Batting

WEST HAVEN, Conn. — One streak came to an end, while another is still alive after Yale snapped its 12-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over Harvard in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader before seeing a rally fall just short in a 7-6 loss to the Crimson in Game 2 at Yale Field on Saturday.

Yale moves to 7-25-1 overall, 1-9 in Ivy League play, while Harvard moves to 7-24 overall, 3-7 in the Ivy League. Yale will have a chance to move into a tie with Harvard in the Rolfe Division standings with a sweep when the two teams meet again for another doubleheader on Sunday.

Yale Sophomore shortstop Cale Hanson went a combined 2-for-8 in the two games with a single in each game to keep his on-base streak alive, extending it to 31 straight games.

The Bulldogs' losing streak came to an end in a come-from-behind victory in extra innings in the opening game of the afternoon. After Harvard broke a 1-1 tie game with a run in the top of the seventh inning, Yale responded with a run in the bottom of the inning and another in the bottom of the eighth to pull out a 3-2 victory.

Harvard broke the 1-1 tie with a sacrifice fly by Ethan Ferreira that drove in Jeff Reynolds with the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the inning, Yale faced a do-or-die situation needing to score a run to extend the game or watch the losing streak push to 13 games. After Yale loaded the bases with no one out, senior Charlie Neil hit a sacrifice fly to left field that drove in Jacob Hunter to tie the game at 2-2.

Harvard managed to push a runner to third base in the top of the eighth inning after Kyle Larrow led off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Robert Wineski, and was pushed to third on a groundout to first base by Mike Martin. Senior pitcher Eric Shultz (3-1) forced Jack Colton to ground out to third base to end the Crimson threat.

In the bottom of the inning, freshman pinch hitter Joe Lubanski belted a triple to lead off the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hunter, lifting Yale to its first win since a 4-1 win over Hartford on March 24.

Despite falling behind 7-2 in the second game of the afternoon, Yale had its chances to complete the doubleheader sweep.

Harvard used three hits and two Yale errors to jump on top 2-0 in the first inning with Martin scoring the first run from second base on a throwing error by Yale third baseman Chris Piwinski. Jake McGuiggan's RBI single with two outs drove in the second run of the inning to put the Crimson on top 2-0.

Yale didn't wait to respond. In the bottom of the inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out before Neil belted a two-run single to tie the game at 2-2.

Harvard bounced right back to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the second on an RBI single by Colton. The Crimson then jumped ahead 7-2 with two runs in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Colton and two more in the fifth on a run-scoring fielder's choice by Carlton Bailey and an RBI single by Larrow.

Despite the five-run deficit, Yale never folded. The Bulldogs scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning with two runs scoring on another two-run single by Neil and a two-run single by Lubanski.

The Bulldogs had their chances to tie the game in the latter innings, stranding a pair of runners on base in the seventh and eighth innings. Reliever Conner Hulse didn't let that happen in the final inning, striking out all three Yale batters in the ninth inning to end the game and saving the victory for Harvard.

Neil powered the Bulldogs' bats, combining to go 2-for-6 with five RBIs and a run scored, driving in four of them in Game 2. Six other players each added two hits, with Hunter scoring three runs and driving in another.